Incendiary projectile for smooth bore special purpose individual weapon

ABSTRACT

An incendiary projectile for smooth bore special purpose individual weapons comprising a flechette provided with a head consisting of a bullet jacket having a combination of incendiary mixtures therein.

Waited States Patent Johnson et al. 1March 13, 1973 [54] INCENEHARYRQJECTILE FOR 2,900,914 8/1959 Ciccone ..102/66 X SMOOTH BORE SPECIALPURPOSE 3???? 35:32; INDIVIDUAL WEAPON 2,532,323 12/1950 [75] Inventors:Theordore B. Johnson, Stratford;

gggi 2: gig i g 2,872,864 2/1959 Barnes et al. ..1o2 49.2 x

9 9 Conn Primary Examiner-Samuel Feinberg [73] Assignee: The UnitedStates of America as is ant ExaminerJ. J. Tudor represented by theSecretary of the Attorney-Harry M. Saragovitz, Edward J. Kelly and ArmyHerbert Berl [22] Filed: March 30, 1971 2.217022.-." 1. 21 Appl. No.:129,359 1 ABSTRACT An incendiary projectile for smooth bore special pur-52 US. Cl ..102 90, 102/6 P individual weapmls mprising flechme P 511111. CL; ..F42b 11/24 vided with a head misting a bullet jacket havinga [58] Field of Search "102/6, 87, 88,90, 66, 3s, cmbinatin incendiarymixtures [56] References Cited 4 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures UNITED STATESPATENTS 2,271,280 1/1942 Weinert ..l02/90 X- PATENTEUHAR 1 31913INVENTORQ Theodore 5. Johnson. dll'll'l am T C'o/, Jr. Orval hmtamm M MATTORNEY5- AQHW T;

INCENDIARY PROJEC'IILE FOR SMOOTH BORE SPECIAL PURPOSE INDIVIDUAL WEAPONThe invention described herein may be manufactured, used, and licensedby or for the Government for governmental purposes without the paymentto us of any royalty thereon.

Heretofore when utilization of incendiary was required artillery pieceswere employed. However, due to certain inherent limitations of suchpieces they had to be located remotely from the target which presentedan undesirable condition in view of environmental conditions whentargets such as vehicles, gasoline and ammunition dumps, and structuresof wood or other flammable materials were involved. The incendiaryprojectile of the invention permits close-in proximity firing to thetarget to the exclusion of the environmental conditions and eliminatesthe requirement of artillery pieces which if had been used would havebetrayed strategic locations.

Accordingly a principal object of the invention is a new and novelincendiary projectile for smooth bore special purpose individualweapons.

Another object of the invention is the provisions of an incendiaryflechette for smooth bore special purpose individual weapons.

The novel features that are considered characteristic of the inventionare set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The inventionitself, however, both as to its organization and method of operation aswell as additional objects and advantages thereof will be bestunderstood from the following description when read in connection withthe accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a preferred embodimentof the invention; and

FIG. 2 is a transverse sectional view taken along line 22 of FIG. 1.

Referring to the drawings by characters of reference and moreparticularly to FIG. 1 wherein the incendiary flechette of the inventionis generally indicated by reference numeral is detailed in thefollowing. A bullet jacket 11 fabricated from gilding metal is formed soas to have a cylindrical portion 114 adjacent its base 16 and aconically shaped nose member 12 extending forwardly of the cylindricalmember. In the forward part of the interior of the nose 12 there isloaded a high sensitivity incendiary mixture 13 having a fast burningrate. Adjacent incendiary mixture 13 there is positioned a disc shapeddivider followed by another incendiary mixture 14 having a lowersensitivity and slower burning rate than that of incendiary mixture 13and substantially filling that portion of the cavity of the nose member12 between the divider 15 and cylindrical portion 11a. The divider 15which may be of plastic or perforated metal is for the purpose offacilitating the pressing of the incendiary mixtures 13 and 14 in thenose l2 and for maintaining separation of the incendiary mixtures 13 and14 therein. The incendiary mixtures 13 and 14 may each comprisezirconium powder in combination with a sensitizing element such asfinely divided zirconium or lead styphate. The zirconium powder inmixture 14 is a coarser powder than the zirconium powder of mixture 13whereby a slower burning rate is obtained.

The steel shaft 17 of flechette 10 is provided along the body thereofadjacent the outward end 18 with radially spaced steel canted fins 19for the purpose of imparting spin to the projectile during its flight.The opposite end 20 of shaft 17 is secured in the cavity of thecylindrical portion 11a of jacket 11 by means of a disc 21 affixedthereto in conjunction with a lead core 22 poured therein and fillingthe cavity. Thus the shaft assembly comprising shaft 17 and canted fins19 is prevented from separating from bullet jacket 11 during the flightof flechette 10.

The complete incendiary flechette round comprises the incendiaryflechette 10 which is inserted fin end into the cartridge case 23 whichis provided with a propellant charge 24 completely surrounding thatportion of shaft 17 assembly extending exteriorly of the bullet jacket11. The closed end or base 25 of cartridge 23 has centrally includedtherein in communication with propellant 24 a primer 26 for the purposeof igniting propellant 24 which when ignited ejects flechette 10 fromcartridge case 23. The cylindrical portion 11a has formed in itsexterior surface adjacent base 16 a cannelure 27 into which the mouth oropen end 28 of cartridge case 23 is crimped whereby the flechette 10 andcartridge case 23 are held in releasable engagement.

We claim:

1. An incendiary flechette-type projectile for use with a barreledweapon, comprising a metal-jacketed head of an exterior sizeapproximating the interior bore of the weapon barrel through which it isto be projected, the forward end of the head jacket being closed andpointed and the rearward end of the head jacket being open, anincendiary mixture disposed within the closed forward end of the metaljacket of the head, an elongated axial shaft having a radially flangedforward end projecting into the open rearward end of the head jacket andextending rearwardly of the head a distance substantially greater thanthe length of the head, a metallic material filling the rearward portionof the head jacket and surrounding the flanged end of the axial shaft tofirmly secure the shaft in position within the head jacket, radiallyspaced longitudinally extending canted fins secured to the rearwardportion of the axial shaft and extending from the axis of the shaft aradial distance no greater than the greatest radius of the head jacket,a cartridge case releasably attached to the jacket of the head andreceiving the finned rearward portion of the elongated shaft, apropellant charge carried by the cartridge case and surrounding theportion of the shaft which extends rearwardly of the head jacket, and aprimer carried by the cartridge case to ignite the propellant charge andpropel the head and finned shaft from the barreled weapon.

2. The projectile of claim 1 in which that portion of the incendiarymixture in the .pointed forward end of the head jacket has highlysensitive and fast burning characteristics, and in which that portion ofthe incendiary mixture which lies between the pointed forward end of thehead jacket and the metallic filling material has less sensitive andslower burning characteristics than the mixture in the pointed forwardend of the jacket.

3. The projectile of claim 2 provided with a barrier means separatingthe two incendiary mixtures.

4. The projectile of claim 1 in which the rearward end of the headjacket is provided on its exterior surface with a cannelure into whichthe forward end of the cartridge case is crimped to releasably attachthe cartridge case to the head.

1. An incendiary flechette-type projectile for use with a barreledweapon, comprising a metal-jacketed head of an exterior sizeapproximating the interior bore of the weapon barrel through which it isto be projected, the forward end of the head jacket being closed andpointed and the rearward end of the head jacket being open, anincendiary mixture disposed within the closed forward end of the metaljacket of the head, an elongated axial shaft having a radially flangedforward end projecting into the open rearward end of the head jacket andextending rearwardly of the head a distance substantially greater thanthe length of the head, a metallic material filling the rearward portionof the head jacket and surrounding the flanged end of the axial shaft tofirmly secure the shaft in position within the head jacket, radiallyspaced longitudinally extending canted fins secured to the rearwardportion of the axial shaft and extending from the axis of the shaft aradial distance no greater than the greatest radius of the head jacket,a cartridge case releasably attached to the jacket of the head andreceiving the finned rearward portion of the elongated shaft, apropellant charge carried by the cartridge case and surrounding theportion of the shaft which extends rearwardly of the head jacket, and aprimer carried by the cartridge case to ignite the propellant charge andpropel the head and finned shaft from the barreled weapon.
 2. Theprojectile of claim 1 in which that portion of the incendiary mixture inthe pointed forward end of the head jacket has highly sensitive and fastburning characteristics, and in which that portion of the incendiarymixture which lies between the pointed forward end of the head jacketand the metallic filling material has less sensitive and slower burningcharacteristics than the mixture in the pointed forward end of thejacket.
 3. The projectile of claim 2 provided with a barrier meansseparating the two incendiary mixtures.